Chapter 313
Chapter 313
Gideon’s POV
I woke to the sound of voices. Tegan was crouched beside me, shaking my shoulder.
“Alpha. Alpha, wake up p>
My eyes cracked open. The sky overhead was bright, burning my bleary eyes. I groaned and tried to sit up, but my body felt like it had been steamrolled, and everything hurt.
“What happened?” I croaked.
“Asher injected you with morphine. You’ve been out for two hours.” Tegan helped me to my feet. “We need to get you back to the estate. You need medical attention p>
I shook my head, trying to clear it. Everything was hazy. The fight. Asher falling over the cliff. And then…
“Avery.” I looked around. “Where’s Avery p>
Tegan’s expression darkened. “We don’t know. She disappeared during the fight. We searched the area, but there’s no sign of her”
“She must havegone back to Nightwolf,” I said. “To get her mother p>
The journey was long and excruciating. I moved a lot slower than I should have, what with my injuries and the morphine still in my system. By the time I reached the estate, it was midday.
I searched for Avery, but she wasn’t there. Neither was her mother.
Or Deirdre, apparently.
H
She’d escaped from her cell at some point while I was gone. I found out the moment that I stepped into the house, finding chaos. Guard’s were running around frantically. They told me that she ran off and they couldn’t find her,
The search eventually led us to the abandoned greenhouse at the edge of the property. The second I walked in, my heart dropped,
Deirdre was on the ground. There was blood pooling beneath her head, and her eyes were closed. I rushed over, kneeling, and tried to wake her, but she didn’t stir. She was… dead.
Growling low in my throat, I looked around. The scent of blood hung heavy in the air, but it wasn’t just Deirdre’s. I scented Avery’s blood, and my stomach dropped when I
1/3
Chapter 313
+25 Bonus
saw the source.
A torn, bloody shirt was laying in the corner. I picked it up and inhaled deeply-it was definitely Avery’s. I looked around some more, and that was when I spotted it.
Something that looked an awful lot like a finger was laying in the dirt.
My stomach turned. Dropping the shirt, I picked it up, examining it. It was small and pale, covered in dirt and blood, perfectly severed from the hand. I recognized it immediately.
It was Avery’s finger.
I dropped it and staggered back. No. No, this couldn’t be happening.
The scent of death was everywhere. Blood was on the floor and on the walls. Deirdre’s body was laying in the center of the room, evidence of a nasty fight. Avery’s clothes were torn and red with blood. A chair with ropes hanging from it was overturned.
What the hell had happened here? Had Avery intentionally tied Deirdre to a chair and killed her, then panicked and ran?
Or… Had Avery killed Deirdre in self defense? Then, had she stumbled off into the forest, bleeding and injured and missing a finger p>
The implications were staggering.
Without hesitating, I ran outside and shifted, following Avery’s scent. It led toward the forest, faint and mixed with blood. I followed it for miles and miles, but strangely, I never found her. At first, I thought that had to be a good sign-I hadn’t found a body yet.
Eventually, the trail led to a river. Her scent stopped there.
“Search the river!” I commanded my men. She could have drowned p>
“Sir!” Tegan called after me, I was already shifting, running downstream. “Sir, there’s no way she made it this far! Not if she was that injured p>
I didn’t care. I just kept moving. If she was trying to run, fearing that I would imprison her for killing Deirdre, then she would have followed the river. She would have gone downstream. I raced along the bank, searching, and eventually, I came upon an old, rickety dock.
Shifting back, I stood on the dock, staring at the water. The current was strong. If she’d been injured like that, she wouldn’t have been able to swim.
2/3
+25 Bonus
Chapter 314
Editorial Board
Editorial Board Our editorial team works behind the scenes to refine each chapter, maintain consistency, and deliver the best reading experience.